Reflection Friday Week 10

"What is this? A new teaching...?" This was the reaction of the crowds after Jesus had drove unclean spirits out of a man, as we read in Mark 1:21ff. And it is safe to say that this reaction is not restricted to this pericope. It is a reaction that we encounter several times in the Gospels, sometimes spoken, sometimes not spoken. And most, if not all the times, it had to do with what Jesus did and taught. Jesus taught by the way he lived his life. His whole life was a teaching, and a new teaching at that. Every single act, word, and movement of Jesus was a new teaching. And to me, this is what our gospel reading of today focuses on. Jesus finds a people who are serious on following the law. And they do this to the letter. Following the law is not in itself bad. Not at all. However, Jesus wants the people to understand why they are doing what they are doing. He wants the law to be seen as a source of life and not a mere prohibition. “The law must be seen as coming from within rather than from without," Jesus tells the crowd today, "it is not the law inscribed in tablets and scrolls that will prevent you from committing adultery. No. The power is within you. You do not need a law inscribed on a stone to control you. An external law will not prevent you from having lustful thoughts." Yes. This is the new teaching that Jesus brings. A totally new way of doing things. Look deep inside of you- in the depths of your hearts- for the answers to world's problems. For everything arises from therein, and only therein can the answers be found.